Week 1.1 - Introduction

Question 1

Name disciplines within Neuroscience and their focus.

Answer 1

• Neurobiology - focuses on the biological components of the neuron, and analyze its bits and pieces in all its glorious biological variability, such as ion channels, neurotransmitters, neuroanatomy.
• Computational neuroscience — in broad outlines — denotes the use of computers for simulating neurons and neuronal networks, i.e., it’s dynamics. Computational neuroscience is concerned with reproducing essential dynamical phenomena of neurons.
• Theoretical neuroscience uses statistics and math to explain neuronal function.
• Cognitive Neuroscience tackles the problems of cognitive function: ways in which neurons enable organisms to deal with the environment.
• Neurodynamics. A branch of Physics that attempts to explain the spike behaviour from neurons from a physical and dynamic perspective.

Question 2

What are the main differences between Computational Neuroscience and Neural Computation?

Answer 2

Neural Computation

• Focuses on the functioning of the neuron, what can be done with the neuron as a functional unit.
• Often disregarding biological detail; high level of abstraction.

Computational Neuroscience

• Focus on biophysics, the spikes or activity of the neuron.
• Uses computers to simulate neurons and neural networks (its dynamics).
• Reproducing dynamical emergent properties of neurons.

Question 3

What is a good model?

Answer 3

Firstly, it depends on the question that you want to answer. Because based on that question you will look for the appropriate level of abstraction.

But in general, these are some nice properties:

a model should be…

• simple
• accurate
• representative
• explanatory
• predictive

*Note that these properties are contradictory. There is a trade-off between complexity (i.e. biologically implausibility and efficiency).

Question 4

What is a pattern?

Answer 4

Some kind of reoccurring structure; statistical regularities in the world.

Question 5

What are Artificial Neural Networks?

Answer 5

ANN’s are computing systems that - on a very high level - are inspired by how neurons in the brain work. ANN’s “learn” to do things by lots of examples, without being explicitly told what to do.